Eee PC software applications

The Eee PC runs Linux instead of the Windows operating system. In the
case of the Eee PC, Asustek chose to use Xandros for the operating system,
the Open Office applications suite, and a Firefox browser. This helps to
keep costs down and means the Eee PC boots in about 15 seconds.
The Eee PC's user interface, which is still being developed, uses tabs for
navigation. The prototype we tested had tabs labelled Internet, Work, Learn,
Play, Settings and Favorites, which contained icons for related applications
and websites. For example, the internet tab offered icons for surfing the
web, connecting to Wikipedia, and the Skype VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol)
service.

Overall, the Eee PC prototype showed a lot of promise. In terms of its size
and capabilities, there appeared to be no obvious tradeoffs for a device
that could function well as a second notebook PC for busy executives.

It was announced on October 16, 2007, that a version of the Eee will be sold with Windows XP. Microsoft agreed to lower the price of Windows for
Eee PC users to under US$40.

The file system is ext2/ext3. Unionfs is used to make the root file system consist of changes to a static image. This makes it possible to let users update
everything on the file system and still provide a factory reset. The drawback is that storage on the image cannot be recovered. If a software package is
uninstalled, no space is freed and if a package is updated it might take up space twice. On 4 GB models, 1.4 GB is available to the user; on 8 GB models, 5.1 GB
is available.